Winner of 1996 New York Outer Critics' Circle Awards
for "Best Play" and "Best Playwright," PICASSO AT THE LAPIN
AGILE is set in 1904 in a bohemian Paris bistro, the Lapin Agile. Steve Martin's
play revolves around an imaginary meeting between a passionate Pablo Picasso
(David DaCosta) and
a fiery Albert Einstein (Dan Sulger). The two young men on the threshold of fame vie for the
attentions of a young lady, and for each others respect in a hilarious battle of
ideas about painting, probability, lust, and the future of the world. One year
later, Albert Einstein published the Special Theory of Relativity. Three years
later, Pablo Picasso painted Les Demoiselles D'Avignon.

Then there is
Freddy ( Adam Plourde) who does a remarkable and believable portrayal of the
bistro owner/bartender, Germaine (Alisson
Messina), the bar maid and femme fatale, Gaston (Edmund Clavette), the local peasant with a urinary problem, Sagot
(Anthony Medeiros) the meretricious art
dealer, sexy Suzanne (Jenniffer Vaughn), Picasso's latest conquest, the irrepressible
Schmendiman (Scott Domenici),
creator of an asbestos based concrete , The Countess (Tina Kenney), A Female
Admirer (Ashley Doiron) and a surprise visitor from another time. (Luke
Riskalla).

Director Christopher Gaulin
has done a wonderful job with this play. This is Christopher's directorial
debut, and he has masterfully handled his casting and blocking. His
insight and resourceful experience as an accomplished actor has its marks on
this production. What a fine job - he has done a great
job of not taking this play too seriously -- and yet, just seriously enough. And
after all, isn't that what makes comedy work?

The cast is very strong, not because they don't bathe (that's
a French joke), but because their comic timing is so good. Though he bears no
resemblance whatsoever to Picasso , David DaCosta does a fine job portraying the impassioned,
roguish, self-inflated artist. Dan Sulger is a very ,very funny, young Einstein
with his hair standing straight up. The two of them are the backbone of the
show, and these two fine actors on stage together was a joy to behold!
Alisson Messina as
Germaine possesses a unique European look and her acting was impeccable!
Jenniffer Vaughn as Suzanne, adds a unique presence to her character, and
Tina Kenney as the Countess adds a pleasant touch as does A Female Admirer,
Ashley Doiron. But the fellow that is the comic is Scott Domenici as
Charles Dabernow Schmendiman -- the big jerk that thinks he's a genius. In his
brief cameo appearance, Scott all but chews up the scenery. I had fun
watching him. A brief cameo appearance by Luke Riskalla will delight you!

The play whizzes by at the speed of light,
making us laugh all the while. Some of the laughs come from sophisticated
philosophical meanings, while others are from basic pratfalls or the
placement of four little words ("Thank you very much"). There's wit,
there's mirth, there's merriment with a big dose of silliness thrown in to boot.
Granted the supporting characters are not as engaging as the two main ones, but
we're laughing.

So if you need to ruminate about the nature of time and
space, art and ego, jerk and genius or you just need to get your mind off that
pesky melanoma that's been bothering you lately -- head for the Lapin Agile.
I guarantee it will shake your blues away.